


The Ballad of Diamond Argent

by AmeliaAndreas3



Series: It's never over; is it? [4]
Category: Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins
Genre: 140th Hunger Games, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, Inspired by Music, Major Original Character(s), No Rebellion, Original Hunger Games, based on 35mm song both in title and in story kinda, hoooo boy, pretty gory at one point
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-26
Updated: 2020-11-25
Packaged: 2021-03-09 00:40:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 6,317
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27215833
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AmeliaAndreas3/pseuds/AmeliaAndreas3
Summary: "Oh, Diamond Argent was a popular bitch,Hot bod, hot boy, career elite plus she was richThat girl had everything till hiccup and hitch,Tessa Haring lost her leg in a wreck"The time for the 140th games has arrived, and Diamond couldn't be happier: she was going to represent district 1 and bring herself glory- and her district, too, sure, whatever.If only that district 6 girl hadn't got all the attention since the goddamn reaping ceremony...That girl was standing in her way, so Diamond would destroy her, whatever it'll take.
Relationships: Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Series: It's never over; is it? [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1986949
Comments: 15
Kudos: 4





	1. "I know you won't disappoint me and mom"

**Author's Note:**

  * For [darth_nell](https://archiveofourown.org/users/darth_nell/gifts).



> Well, Darth_nell  
> you asked for the story of the 140th games? Well I have you and the song "The ballad of Sara Berry" to thank for. Have this gift as a thank you for all the motivation you've given me💕 I can't wait to see how *your* AU HG series would go.

The door closed behind her neatly by the nice peacekeeper, Diamond straightened her white and gold dress for the tenth time and flicked her almost white soft curls.

Everything had to be perfect for when father arrived to say his goodbyes. 

_If he would come._ A dark voice whispered in her head. _Of course he would come!_ A new voice countered. _you are his eldest daughter, you are going to the Capitol to being glory for yourself, your family.._

_And sure, maybe this damned district too._

If Diamond could, she would move to the Capitol in a heartbeat, she was so tired of the stiff, poor knockoffs here who thought so highly of themselves... if murder was allowed, she would've let some of those airheaded fools and suffering poor idiots a taste of her sword. 

The door opening slowly caused her to flinch and stand up as tall and straight as she could. As he entered, with the grace and pose of a king.

They shared the same icy blue eyes and platinum natural hair that some of the sluts in the academy were dying for. 

"Father" she greeted him with a curtsey. "Diamond, my dear, steller performance earlier, you truly showed the cameras what a future victor should look like. I am proud" his mouth curled into what she was regulated to call his smile ever since she was young. 

Her heart fluttered at the compliment. "I know father, thank you" she kept her voice steady. 

"I simply wanted to wish you luck, Diamond. You are a renowned fighter" he stepped closer, still towering over her relatively tall frame. "The games are a great chance for you to shine" he leaned closer and put his hand on her shoulder. "I know you won't disappoint me, or your mother"

"Of course not, father!" She stumbled, his smirk faded. 

"Goodbye, Diamond" he took off his arm and walked away.

No other visitors came other than Venus and Fleur, the only two other girls she found were worthy enough. "We are rooting for you, Dia!" Fleur gave her a proper hug. Venus stayed behind, but wasn't less excited: "It's so cool how you get to go into the games with Gem. You two are gonna be the top ship of the games!" 

Ah yes, her district partner and boyfriend, Gem Asterion. His presence was comforting, and their finale battle will sure be legendary.. 

The nice peacekeeper signaled five minutes. "Good luck honey! You're the baddest bitch and you will cone back!" Fleur blowed a kiss towards her and Venus gave her the hug this time. 

Diamond let the peacekeeper escort her to the train car with Gem. The car itself was the riches she was used to, but then again, this was a Capitol train. Her dream destination. 

"You will now meet your mentors: Enyo Noriega and Julian Rosier!" The escort said sweetly, before dancing away. 

Diamond stared at her, at the woman she spent years adoring: She was born the same year Enyo won, mother said she will be lucky for this. There wasn't a single gray hair in Enyo's charcoal black hair, her hazel eyes firm yet intrigued. They both studied eachother for a while. 

"It's an honor to meet you" Diamond finally broke the silence" 

"Likewise, the famous daughter to the Argent family mines, I've always wanted to meet the _heiress_ " Enyo smiled and offered her hand. 

Diamond shook it, but the nickname _the_ _heiress_ made her flinch: after she was selected for the games, her father told her that her heiress position was revoked, at least until she wins the games gloriously. 

"Can we watch the other reapings yet?" Asked Diamond. "Already waiting to see the competition, I like that" Said Enyo. Along with Gem and Julian they gathered around the rather large screen. Diamond didn't pull away as Gem wrapped his arm around her neck and laid her head against his. 

The district 2 tributes were polar opposites: the girl with her honey colored hair and lanky frame, and the tall boy with the dark complexion and broad presence. Quite interesting. 

district 4 only managed to score one volunteer- the girl- A woman named Corelle who had seashells woven into her braid. The boy was a young 14 year old who cried while running on stage- he was no Finnick Odair. Diamond sighed. 

District 5 was so forgettable she didn't even bother to even remember their look. 

It was district 6 who captured her- and the Capitol announcer's- attention immediately: the girl was pretty short, and probably younger than Diamond at least by a year. She wore a simple light pink dress and her brown hair was tied into a high ponytail. 

It was the silver prosthetic leg that looked like a high knee stocking at first, that captivated the announcer as she made theories about what could possibly caused this, and how the girl would fare in the games. 

Even after the reaping was concluded, the two announcers still continued to talk about the district 6 girl. 

Tessa Haring was the name, Diamond made sure to engrave it in her memory. 

There was no way this lowlife would steal the crown she so deserved. 


	2. "She shoved her squad, he clique, her boyfriend behind. Still (Tessa) had a hold on the lead"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The scored are read, and Diamond still couldn't believe that damned Tessa girl was still the Capitol's favorite.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Omg I had no idea some of y'all knew the song. (If you don't. You definitely should take a listen, it's amazing)

"Diamond, please. _sit down_ " pleaded Gem. 

"I scored a 9, a _Nine,_ Gem! This is a fucking disaster!" Diamond retorted. 

"Lots of careers score Nines, Look, here's Corelle's score! And she scored just like you!" He tried to calm her down, but in her opinion, he was doing a _horrible_ job. 

"She is very inefficient with that trident, she deserves that 9, but I clearly out rank her. I should score at least a 10" 

_Father must be watching, furious._ A terrible thought bloomed in her mind. _Even if you win, he might never give you the title back for this humiliation._

Gem must've sensed her disarray, because he took both her hands and clutched them together with his. "It's going to be okay. Besides, no outliar is gonna score above a 5 anywa-" he stopped mid sentence, the color drained from his face: "oh _makers, Fuck"_

Diamond immediately turned around just before the score flashed away: 

Tessa Haring of district 6 scored an 11, that 11 was higher than any of their nines and tens. 

"No, Diamond-" Gem was too slow to stop her from running into her private bathroom and smashing the mirror above the sink. 

There was a big cracked hole in the middle of the mirror now, with a shard missing just where her left eye was. Her knuckles were bleeding, but she didn't care, she didn't care. 

She slipped down against the wall, not bothering to do anything about the blood that dripped down her wrist. 

_Father, please don't worry, don't cut me off just yet. I will do this, I will slaughter this girl with everything I have and then no one would give a shit about her goddamn leg or her score._

_I will get that crown, for fucks sake. Whatever it takes._

"Diamond?" Gem knocked softly on her doorstep. "Please go away" she quivered. "I heard something get smashed, are you okay-"

"Please go _away, Gem!"_ She cried. 

There was no answer on the other side of that door for what seemed like a few minutes, before she heard another voice calling her name: "Diamond, it's me, Enyo. Care to let me in and we'll have a girl talk? I know you need it" 

Diamond crawled towards the locked door and unlocked it with one button twist. The door opened to a crack as Enyo entered, in a fashionable sliver suit. Just before the door closed she could see Gem, his face filled with worry.

Their locked eyes for a moment. She was convinced that if her eyes could truly freeze, Gem would've been a block of ice right now.

Enyo closed the door behind her. "Do you wanna talk about this?" 

"No" replied Diamond sharply. "Okay. So let's not talk" Enyo smiled then went through the little cabinet in the corner and pulled out some bandages and a type of ointment. "But at least let me bandage your hand, the stylists are going to be pissed tomorrow" 

Diamond didn't argue as her mentor carefully smeared the ointment on her knuckles and wrist, Diamond fliched a bit as it burned through her wound, before settling on a nice calming feeling. 

"Better?" Asked Enyo.

"Sure, whatever" Diamond scoffed. 

"You wanna tell me what came over you? That rage?" Enyo slid besides her. "Because you can't show this rage to the cameras, it's dangerous" 

"I know." Diamond sighed. "And I won't, tomorrow I'll be perfect for the cameras" 

"What about in the games?" 

Enyo's questuon lingered in the air for a minute. "What do you mean?" Asked Diamond.

"What about this kind of rage in the games?" Enyo raised her eyebrows in question. "I don't know. I have an objective, and I'm more than determined to complete it." 

"Oh, I know. But you need to remember that in the games, the cameras never stop rolling, I will be able to see everything you are doing, and believe me, it's dangerous to forget this. No one knows this better than I"

Diamond had no idea what Enyo meant by that. But she was feeling a bit better, good enough to pick herself up from the floor. 

That damn rage never left her mind, though. She was _still_ going to win these games, and if she won't win, she'll at least make sure Tessa Haring will get the horrible slow death she deserves. 


	3. "You taste the silver (Diamond), you taste the crown! You taste for blood from the roses in hand"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The games begin, and Diamond sets herself a precious goal.

"10 seconds to launch" 

Diamond stood inside her tube silent. She wasn't fond of the arena's outfit: tight black leggings and a knee length silver dress, clearly this was a stupid choice, but she looked good regardless. 

She narrowed her eyes as the tube slowly rose into a low stone stage the cornucopia stood atop. Around them was a grassy meadow that stretched into a thick forest. Near the cornucopia was a beautiful spring. 

Next to her stood Raquel from Two, who gave her a supportive smirk. Diamond scanned the semicircle for Tessa, who stood at the furthest left plate. 

_She's mine._ Diamond mouthed. Raquel simply shrugged. _So long as you get her._ the Two girl mouthed back. 

The gong sounded in all it's glory, and Diamond rushed forward, there was a pile of weapons ready, including a beautiful double edged sword for her and for her only. She outruned even Raquel and Gem to grab it and charge immediately into the frey. 

_Now where is that one legged bitch?!_

Diamond looked around frantically, lunging at a girl that came to far into the cornucopia's territory without flinching. The girl's eyes quickly turned glassy, dead. 

Diamond run towards where several other tributes ran to, catching up to one of the boys, impaling him through the back before moving forward. 

_Stop dilly-dalling, that girl is out there, still not dead._ Diamond jogged through the thick forest, looking around almost every knook and cranny. 

A knife stroke her palm, causing her to drop the sword. Diamond swore, picked up the sword with her left hand and rushed in that direction with a scream of rage. 

But when she slashed the bushes surrounding her- albeit not as well as she would've with her right hand- but Tessa was gone. 

It _had_ _to be the one legged gir_ l, right? Thought Diamond as she considered her options. Her right hand was immobilized for now, it was even more bloody than it was two days ago, when she smashed her mirror. 

_But the girl is still out there._ Diamond reminded herself again. 

_But you are hurt, you'll have another chance._ A new voice said in her head, a concerned one. It sounded much like Gem. 

Diamond sighed and got back the way she came just as the canons started firing.

* * *

"Are you okay?!" Gem rushed to her side as she entered their sight range. "I'm fine, it was that Tessa girl, she has a good aim, I bet that's how she scored that fucking 11" she hissed. 

They lied her down next to a crate and Raquel pulled the knife without warning, Diamond swore loudly. "I'm gonna get her. I'm gonna get her even if takes me every goddamn day of the games."

* * *

Enyo sat back with a sigh as the night rose and ten pictures floated in the sky, never to return. 

_What is it with this girl?_

Diamond was terrifying and awe inspiring at the same time, she reminded Enyo of herself, and that was never a good thing. "How is she holding up?" Melanie Hicks waved, getting Enyo's attention from beyond the glass that separated the two booths. 

"I.. don't know. It's rather.. strange, how I feel about her" 

"She has potential to be a real candidate victor" Melanie shrugged, her honey colored hair danced alongside her face as she moved. 

"She has.. a lot of expectations on her shoulders. Her father is.. demanding" 

"Wait, her last name is Argent, am I right? As in Vicio Argent? One of the biggest Capitol favored business owners in all the districts?" 

"You know the Argent company?" Enyo raised her eyebrows, surprised. "Well _duh._ Everyone in the districts does, especially victors, like me" 

"I- I thought they were a- a district 1 only celebrities" Enyo stummered. 

"I can see why that poor girl is so hell bent on taking out the middle district competition, she wants people to focus on her. She wants to be the victor" Melanie leaned on her elbows close to the screen. 

"Every tribute wants to be the victor" Enyo scoffed. "Its more than just something she wants" Melanie watched as Raquel woke Diamond up for her shift.

"What is it then?" 

Melanie looked away from the screen and straight through Enyo's eyes: "Obsession"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Diamond went to the Sloane Berkley school of revenge lmao. She won't let it go😅


	4. Since (Diamond)'s sanity was hung by a thread, her bff's declared her socially dead

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Back at the district 1 academy, Venus and Fleur watch their best friend slowly start to slip away, they both wonder whether shoud they continue supporting her.

Venus Wilshire was used to being a shadow, when the bright sun that was Diamond left for the games, Venus didn't know what to do with all this new found fame as one of the two girls the Heiress to the Argent jewelry company deemed worthy to keep around. 

Now she sat in her small academy room she shared with Fleur at night, pondering her luck.

Today; day 4, the main feed showed Diamond hungrily searching around the forest for tributes, every time she encountered one, she was not merciful: the last one of the three she killed today was cut in half around the pelvis.

Venus felt the bile rise again in her throat as the horrid thought floated back in her mind. _could Diamond do this the whole time?_

She twirled a throwing knife around her finger, she found the motion calming, just as she found the weapon itself fascinating, she was good with the knives almsot as much as Fleur was good with a bow, as much as Diamond was good with a sword-

 _Oh dear god._ just the mention of Diamond and her skills made her shift uncomfortably. Venus collected her knees to her chest and hugged them. As if this could make the feeling go away.

The door opened, and Venus looked up to see her friend: Fleur looked like she stayed up training, her skin and hair still glistening of sweat. "Hey" she chuckled. 

"Hey, Fleur" answered Venus. 

Her friend furrowed her brows in confusion. "What are you still doing up?" 

"I couldn't sleep" 

Fleur's playful yet tired smile faded, she looked down at her shoes. "It's because of Dia, isn't it?:" 

Venus stood up. "How can she do that? Like.. without even flinching? She didn't even care that his blood was spilling on her. You know how she was like..if even so much as a drop of rain fell on her, she'd get so upset, and now.."

"She enjoys the bloodshed" Fleur threw the sweaty top with a bit more force than needed. 

"You think it's her determination?" Asked Venus. "I mean, this drive to win. How her father is like.. pretty demanding. Remember we _heard_ what he told her. How she is no longer the heiress if she doesn't win, if her score was low.." 

"I don't know. Maybe this is a side of her we just never noticed" Fleur put on her night clothes and hugged herself, not even bothering to shower. 

"Whatever it is, I don't like it. It's... its like some kind of obsession" Venus wondered aloud. 

"What do you suggest we do? Just... tell everyone that we think Diamond is going crazy?" 

"Of course not" Venus scoffed. "We need to deal with this rationally. In a way that won't hurt us and this new.. situation"

"You like it too, don't you?" Fleur moved to sit on Venus' bed. "I do; a lot" answered Venus. "But Diamond-" "might still die in that arena" Fleur cut her off. "We can deny her now, while she's not here. And with that obsession of hers, she might not be the last one standing" 

Venus clutched her palms together to stop them from shaking. "Even Gem and the other careers think that" said Fleur.

"How do you know?" 

"Because I stayed to watch, unlike you who ran out of the auditorium to puke. By the way, I believe everyone saw that" 

Venus sighed. "Oh, shit. Was it that bad?" "Nah, you weren't the only one. Seeing people get stabbed or slashed is one thing, they don't prepare us to watch people get _cut in half_ " chuckled Fleur. 

"I still can't believe she actually did that" said Venus quietly. "I know, it makes me wanna grab Diamond through the TV and slap some sense into her" Fleur leaned her chin in her palm.

"She'd kick your ass tho, she always managed to kick your ass" 

"My aim is my strength" Fleur shrugged in response. 

"So tommorow, when people ask. What do we tell them about Diamond?" Asked Venus. 

Fleur's eyes were shinning with strange determination: "We tell them that this crazy bitch onscreen is no longer the Diamond we know."


	5. Till then at last her boyfriend texted and said "I'm taking (Tessa) to the senior prom

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gen Astarion makes a tough decision.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so I am back to not knowing who the victor is gonna be on "Cliques" so my alternative is to continue this instead and get my mind of off things. 
> 
> FYI I have two possible victors for Cliques I just can't choose between them ughhhh

The night sky had shown two dead today. Which brought the total number of tributes to 9. And by day 6, this had to be some type of record, thought Gem. 

He tightened his grip on his dual blades and took a deep breath. He volunteered for first watch, and by the fire he was tasked with keeping alive, he watched the rest of the alliance sleep.

More accurately, he watched Diamond as she curled up in a fetus position, cradling her sword like some kind of teddy bear. The first night, she fell asleep in his arms and he stroked her hair gently like he loved doing. But ever since day 4, he kept a somewhat distance.

They all were.

It was clear even by the way Will, Raquel and Corelle laid as far as they could from Diamond but still by the fire. It was clear by the ever growing number of rage modes Diamond entered in the past three days. 

Gem focused on his sleeping girlfriend- would he still call her that?- narrowing his eyes at her in hopes she won't wake up, not yet. 

_Dia, what **happened** to you?!_

He returned to staring into the further forest and considered a stupid plan: he couldn't stay here, if not because of Diamond then because of the dwindling number of tributes- that was, technically, thanks to Diamond. 

But how good will he fare in this forest? He had no idea about wilderness survival, and obviously he could steal a bit of supplies before he leaves.. 

But Diamond might still find him. He shuddered at that thought. _If I become Dia's enemy, she would not be merciful._

 _But it's the right thing to do, that girl is batshit crazy._ A voice in his head counter argued. _You don't gotta take any of her shit. Will, Raquel and Corelle will betray her soon, and they might even kill her for you._

He couldn't argue with that, so as quickly and quietly as he could, Gem packed a bag with the bare essentials- that wouldn't arise suspicion if stolen- and crossed the pavilion into the forest.

* * *

At night, the arena seemed much more scary, not because of the other tributes- Gem was very convinced he could take either of them if they tried anything- but because of the unknown, who knows what hazzards and mutts the gamemakers have planned? Gem kept his blades at the ready. 

A shriek of a knife went past his ear, and a wave of sudden pain caused him to close his eyes and twist his face. He wished he could stroke the bleeding scratch where the knife accurately cut.

Gem turned around, narrowing his eyes in attempt to get a glimpse in the dark of who could've done this, before he came to the logical answer:

"I know you're there, Tessa Haring" 

All he got in return was another knife in his direction, he raised his swords to protect his face. The knife clinked and fell down to the floor.

"I'm not here to kill you!" He dared to yell out. 

He didn't hear her move, not even with that prosthetic leg, so he almost yelled out when he heard her behind him. "Oh sorry, I guess that is your girlfriend's job" 

Her voice sounded bitter. Gem restored his breath and turned around to face her. "I'm here on my own because I left her, I left all of them. And I suspect they might even start turning on eachother tomorrow" 

Up close, Gem noted, she was quite short, her brown hair framed her face in a horrible manner, probably since she hasn't showered in days. 

"I don't really buy it" she scoffs and walks past him, to pick up her knives. "I'm not asking you to, just. Don't force me to fight you"

"Good, because you won't win" she scrapes the dirt off of one of the knives and shoves her onto her belt. "Cocky much?" Gem chuckles.

"I scored an eleven, you scored a ten"

"Yes, I can see why now" Gem sighed. "Your aim is impacable and for some reason, you aren't making any sound when you walk, even with that.. metal prosthetic"

"I trained myself to be quiet" was the answer. 

Gem knew he was in no position to ask why or what does that mean, but he lowered his blades. 

As if on que, it started Raining at once, and Gem wondered if it's all around the arena or just the forest. Because rain would wake up the others, and that wouldn't be good. 

"Fine. I won't hurt you, for now" Tessa was finished taking care of her knives, "but remember that" she said before dissapearing in the shadows of the night. 

Gem leaned against the tree's trunk and let the rain drench him completely. He didn't plan on having any weather related hazzards, so he didn't pack anything against that, instead he closed his eyes and prayed he wouldn't catch anything from this. 

"You can't be serious, exposing yourself like that" 

Gem barely had time to reach for his swords when Tessa suddenly appeared next to him, as if out of thin air. Once again, he couldn't stop himself from gasping in suprise, before collecting himself: "What do you mean?" He scoffed. "I'm inside the forest, it's enough to keep Diamond and the rest. And besides, it's not like there's anywhere I can be where I could be sheltered from the rain" 

She made a soft noise that was strange, before Gem realized the outliar girl was _laughing_ at him. "You _actually_ think it's enough? Wow, I knew careers could be stupid when it came to survival, but falling asleep on a random tree in the forest? Without even climbing it? That's beyond what I expected" 

Gem frowned. "What's your business what I'm doing trying to survive?" 

"Well, I could've killed you a minute ago without you even noticing" said Tessa with disdain. 

Gem removed a streak of blonde wet hair from his face, "well, thank you for not doing that, and for the tip. If I knew how, I'd climb that tree"

She furrowed her brows. "You can't even climb that?" Tessa looked as if she was considering something. "Tell you what, I'd invite you over to the little cave I found, but just for tonight, and you better not try anything funny" 

Gem's heart fluttered at the thought of a dry, warmer place to sleep in. "I- I would love that, thank you!" 

How strange that almost a week ago he was mad at this girl for harming Diamond. He searched inside him for that anger, but found nothing anymore. 

_The Diamond I know died as soon as she entered the games._ He told himself. _I am just now seeing this, but that's how it is._

He followed Tessa quietly to where her cave was, it was wide enough for both of them to lie in, but Gem had do sit down if he wanted to get inside the height level of the cave. Tessa had a lantern that casted a dim light in the cave; but allowed Gem to see clearly.

"I've had some sponsers looking out for me" Tessa takes off what Gem now saw was a water repelling coat. "They even sent me a towel. This isn't the first time it started raining in the forest. Dry yourself a bit" 

Gem caught the towel thankfully and did his best to dry his now dampy blonde hair and clothes. "Thank you" he muttered. "You didn't have to show me kindness"

"Just wanted to prove I'm better than the lots of you" she chuckled.

Gem couldn't help but think about Diamond, covered in blood. "Yes, you are" 


	6. "Theres Seven reasons this crown's not good as got, and on the night of prom, mercy, thus went her plot:"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 9, Diamond, fueled by anger and determination, goes on a murder spree to ensure her well deserved victory.

Every TV personality in the Capitol wouldn't shut up about Gem's betrayal; and it drove Enyo crazy. 

She was one of the only mentors who stayed in the mentors room for that faithful morning of day 7, when the pack woke up to realize they've been asleep the whole night because Gem didn't wake any of them for a shift, all hell broke loose.   
  
At first, Corelle suggested Tessa Haring killed him and they didn't hear the canon, which made the audience laugh but only impowered Diamond's hate boner for that girl, the pack decided to officially split on good terms and agreed to allow eachother to take things from the cornucopia if needed.   
  
But before he left with Raquel, Will pointed out that some supplies were missing, "I'm just saying, it's a possibly"   
  
When the anthem played that night and showed only one outliar dead, Diamond understood it meant, and Enyo had never seen such a reckless move made by a career, especially her own tributes: Diamond piled up some crates just outside of the cornucopia's mouth, she poured gasoline and watched as they slowly but surely burned, not caring at all that these had food and the tent in them.   
  
And that was a _disaster_ in sponser numbers. "You're lucky she's pretty" scoffed Illiana Nickby, a long time regular loyal sponser, who even helped sponser Enyo herself.   
  
Now Enyo sat in front of the screen with her head in her hands. "She's beyond saving. If district 1 gets a victor, I hope to the 'makers it's Gem" she sighed.   
  
"I heard her father disowned her on that finale 8 interview" Melanie Hicks reached out from her station, watching over both Will and Raquel. "I haven't had the chance to watch it, but I'm not suprised" Enyo pulled her hair back and away from her face. "If she wasn't so far beyond the edge, I'd tell her that"   
  
Melanie only smiled in pity. "You'd think people would like a girl who scored at least 8 kills, that's close to the record"   
  
"They like their killer tributes 'relatable'" scoffed Enyo in response, she found the Capitol treatment of tributes, like characters in a story, disugsting.

But there was nothing she could do about it, Their attempted rebellion failed, President Devon Rumpe insisted, at Elenia Snow's request, that she'll live her punishment in the Capitol for her supposed involvement with the once present Thirteen. 

She looked at the screen yet again, sighing to herself as Diamond washed her body with a water canteen, shamelessly.

* * *

It was noon; and Diamond found Herself staring at the sun, as she planned her move. 

In that forest were seven tributes, seven tributes that didn't deserve the crown. Including that traitor bastard Gem. 

She would make them all suffer

She went through the medkit still left in the cornucopia, on one of the bottles was a warning: _WARNING: DON'T SWALLOW._

 _Poisonous then, I can use that._ she thought. With her sword in her hand she ran to the forest, making almost no sound. 

She found the first outliar camp pretty soon. Whoever it was; they sucked at hiding their equipment they somehow got. Diamond opened the outliar's water canteen and poured the disinfecter into it. 

She didn't stick around to watch whoever it was slowly die, she only heard the canon a few minutes later. 

As she continued to scout the forest, she heard familiar voices: Will and Raquel. The girl from Two seemed to be ready to go hunting. "We can't let people score all the kills. I'm going to scout" 

"You do you" sighed Will.

Diamond, crouched in a bush watched as Raquel went past her bush, completely unfazed. Diamond picked up a hard, jagged rock, she snuck behind Raquel, who only turned around at the last minute and gasped before Diamond hit her with all the force she could master. Raquel dropped down, stunned. But the huge gush in the girl's head told Diamond she didn't have much time. 

Will came running immediately, his mace in hand. But Diamond was once again, ready. She raised her sword from bellow and before he landed a hit, she shoved the sword through his chin all the way to what she hoped was his brain, cutting bone and flesh. 

The canon fired before she could even begin to try and take her sword out. Finally, Raquel's canon fired as well.

It took multiple tries but Diamond managed to rustle the bloody sword from her victim. Before she ran off quickly to finish the others. 

The other outliar that wasnt Tessa, a girl lying near the embers of her fire, was Diamond's next victim: slashes here and there were enough, and the girl barely had time to scream. 

When Diamond found Corelle, the sun already set. The four girl clutched her trident near the small pond she found; but Diamond launged from the dark, locking their weapons and slashing ferociously, forcing Corelle to stand in the pond as she fought.

With one sweep, Diamond captured Corelle's trident, enveloped and disarmed her, with one step forward she caught the suprised four girl unarmed and confused, and punctured her lung with her blade. 

She left Corelle to slowly drown in her blood inside the shallow pond. 

There were two still left. The two she saved up for the end. _it'll be mine. The crown will be Mine._

"Diamond.. did you do all of this? These afternoon kills.." a voice from the bushes draws her attention. The voice of a guy she once respected, one could say she loved. 

"You brought yourself to me? Than you're an idiot, Gem" 

He stepped out of the bushes, his twin swords at the ready. "I came to put an end to you" 

"Good luck, you bastard" she raised her bloody sword and charged forward, he was ready to meet her as their three blades locked with eachother. Just like they used to do in the academy.

But this was different. Just the thought of that made Diamond furious. "I am going to _destroy_ you" she growled. 


	7. "At least in your head you're Queen of Highschoolland"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Diamond plans to kill Gem, Gem prepares to kill if necessary and Tessa. Tessa waits for an opening

For the better part of the hour, Diamond's sword and Gem's blade clashed evenly. And it made her even more furious, made her hits and jabs more urgent and ferocious. A light drizzle began pouring. 

Gem was ready for all of those, and the obvious parallel to their days in the academy made him tear up, the emotions were fully in view with each hit he blocked, with each attempted attack. 

Pathetic. 

"You see?!" She yelled. "Those damn gamemakers were _wrong_ giving me that fucking 9! Who's a Nine now? WHO?!" 

"Calm down, you sound like a madwoman" Gem gritted. Her attention was back to him, "you have to be a little mad if you wanna win a game like this. You need to _thank_ me for taking all of these for you" 

"While I would kill them quickly and mercifully, you did it out of obession. I learned since that my Diamond died as soon as the games began." 

She narrowed her eyes and pivoted to meet his blades backwards. " _this_ was always me. Determined, calculated. That's how you achieve things"

"That's what your father molded you into. But I saw this facade break when you were with me" he pushed her back. "At least.. I hoped" 

"Hope is dangerous; Gem" she hissed back. The rain grew from a drizzle to a full on torrent. But Diamond couldn't let the rain get in her way, it was hard, trying to predict his moves under the constant screen of water making her eyesight worse.

Something shrieked past Diamond, but she deflected the knife with a fast jab, Gem stopped fighting and looked for the direction of the knife. 

Tessa.

Diamond couldn't help herself, she ran after the damned outliar girl, slashing air and seemingly getting closer.

Then she slashed, and heard a yell of pain. A yell was good, it meant she was close, Diamond launched herself forword with her sword pointed in the outliar's direction. The girl tried to deflect Diamond's greatsword with two measly knives. 

She pushed the girl onto a bush, forcing her into the moon's light.

"You are _not_ better than me. You'll never will be" spat Diamond as she landed the sword right through the heart of the girl she wanted to kill so damn badly.

As the canon fired, Diamond dropped her sword and _laughed._ Nothing compared to that euphoric experience of achieving her goal. And with Gem being her only opponent, she was sure she could take him easily.

 _"Are you proud of me; father?"_ She asked, sounding almost like the child she was when she first asked for his approval. 

No answer came of course. She would have to ask him once she wins and goes back home. 

Gem crushes through some bushes, and in her tiredness, Diamond almost forgot to pick her sword back up. The two strained in the rain and mud.

She caught one of Gem's swords and disarmed it at the hilt. As she raised her sword to puncture his heart, she smiled, knowing he could never catch her attack in time. 

But Gem rolled down in the mud, and before she could even understand what he was doing, she felt his sword impale her stomach. 

She fell forwards shocked, onto him. He was fast enough to catch her as she struggled. Struggled to find her sword on the muddy, bloody land. "No- No! I won't go down like this" she locked onto one of Tessa's knives, but Gem caught her wrist and threw the knife away from her reach. "I'm sorry you had to become this. For what it's worth, I cared about you" 

She would never admit to him here, when the cameras must be all over her, that was weakness. "I-didn't give a shit about you" she muttered. 

But he chuckled. "I can see in your eyes its not true. Here" he picked up one of his swords. "I'd make this easier for you" 

"Better you. Than that outliar- bitch" Diamond dugged her nails into his soaked shirt. Gem raised his sword. she saw was the green of his eyes, something flickering in them that made him even more beautiful. 

And then she saw nothing.

* * *

Gem pushed Diamond's body off of him. Tessa's was gone. The rain hadn't stopped, and he got sick of it pretty soon. The gamemakers announced him victorious, and in the hovercraft they gave him dry clothes and took care of any trivial cuts. 

Sitting with the interviewer seemed right, as if it was better him than Diamond.

 _It's better me than her, better me than her._ He repeated it to himself like a mantra. Oddly enough, In her last breaths Diamomd said something similar: better him than Tessa.

Although he would've loved for Tessa to be in his shoes. Living after everything that happened, was a privilege, and as the son of the biggest perfume supplier in One; Privilege was something he was taught to exploit. 

The sheer relief on Enyo Noriega's face was another sign he was doing it right, right? She congratulated him and treated him like her own tribute, which was nice considering how he idolized her growing up.

But the one thing that made him angry, was the way her father behaved at her funeral- you'd think such a popular girl would have a popular final goodbye. But aside from Venus and Fleur; who seemed very conflicted at the grave, no one came. On TV, her father claimed she was no longer deserving of the Agrent name. Calling her a madwoman inhumane killer every time. 

Gem saw the way Diamond was looking for her father's approval in every action she did ever since she met him. In the few times she brought him home, the man terrified him... 

So now he sat at Diamond's grave, reading the elegant engraving courtesy of Enyo:

**Diamomd A**

**122 ADD- 140 ADD./ 15 ASR**

**"At least in your head, you're a victor grand**

**Oh pity the dead, you're a victor grand"**

Check, Diamond, Choose Diamond, Root for Diamond Argent. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This time, "Julie Jenkins" didn't survive either I guess  
> Tessa was supposed to win but I liked Gem better so here he is, our winner.

**Author's Note:**

> EDIT DEC 6TH: So according to my 2020 Spotify wrapped my most listened song was "The ballad of Sara Berry" because I used to listen to it on repeat while I wrote this work.
> 
> Thanks AO3 for determining my playlist on spotify


End file.
